A feast for the reading romanticist. All things romance and mainstream scifi/fantasy.

Here Lately

Loads of bloggers advise that bloggers shouldn’t blog if they’ve got nothing of quality to say, or good content to give readers. I agree with this wholeheartedly. I’ve long ago stopped trying to post daily or even sometimes weekly. There just isn’t time. And I’m tired. And there are things on my mind, things that keep me distracted and worried and thinking too much about things. I’m trying to read, but when things are distracting me, my reading gets distracted as well and suffers for it. I think about my blog, this place that is my, in part, release from stress, and I start to miss it. A lot. I tell myself that I bought a domain and a theme and hosting service so I really should be making more of an effort with it all. I want to feed this place and that sometimes means I’m here and talking because I need to for me, not just because I want to give something to others.

March brings with it a personal madness all my own. My daughter’s birthday is in the middle of it, so I start planning and worrying about planning and dealing on a minute-by-minute basis with an understandably excited soon-to-be-seven-year-old. Yes, mom knows what cake you want, hon. Yes, Mom knows you want a party this year (and thank goodness for a super affordable place we found). Yes, Mom knows how much you want a certain particular present. Make that presents. Mom’s going to make sure it happens. But that’s the thing, I gots to make it happen. I will, it’s just taking a lot of time. It will be nice when the party happens, kidlet is happy and maybe there’s a little leftover cake.

So in the middle of that, and work stress and stress even my husband’s job is giving out lately, I am desperately trying to read, desperate being the key. Because I need a break. Doesn’t everyone? I’m just having trouble maintaining an even attention span on it. I want to read it all right now, apparently, but sometimes a page a day is all I get in. Desperate reading is not often comforting, so I need to try to slow down and turn off the noise when I open a book. Here’s what I’m trying to do that with:

I’m rereading this one for my Year of the Fantasy Classic reading challenge. It’s been so long since I read it that it’s like new again.

I do wish Johnathna Harker would get on with it, though. And I can’t help but compare it, again, to the Francis Ford Coppola movie. While at the time I waxed poetical about the movie and encouraged anyone who hadn’t read the book to do so, this time I just find myself visualizing the movie while reading the book. Damnz you Anthony Hopkins, for being such an awesome Dracula! In the book, when Harker meets Dracula for the first time, the oomph is just not there for me like it is in the movie. I’m hoping this won’t be another case of a beloved past-read book not coming off as well for me in the rereading process. Even if it does happen, there’s still no denying that it’s worth seeing what’s sparked a indomitable passion for vampires to this day.

Of Truth and Beasts by Barb and J.C. Hendee is the third book and last in their second Noble Dead series. All together they make up what’s been produced so far of the Noble Dead Saga (all the books are going towards the same goal. I’m not sure at all why the need to separate them into series, which makes them sound like separate stories. They’re not at all. And they need to be read in order). The first series books were some of my most favorite fantasy books to date. They were…well, not a little amazing for this reader. When I realized the second series was completed, I wanted to revamp my love of the Noble Dead world and characters.

It has not been a blissful reunion. This second Noble Dead series is frightfully dull compared to the the first series of books. This is in large part due to some of the main characters from the first series not being present in the second series. The heroine of this series, Wynn, just cannot hold any number of books on her own, let alone one. And they gave her three. The characters that the series desperately needs back – Magiere and Leesil, are back in the THIRD Noble Dead series.

Is any of that making sense? ARG, I say. The otheer reason this second series has been SO DAMN DULL is that there’s little to zero progression of the series arc. Whole books are spent with the characters doing almost the same things over and over again. Very little is revealed and I’m feeling like the series became nothing more than a way to string readers along and be a cash cow. I’m going to finish the second series out, and I might finish out the third if it turns out that it finally ends the overall saga for good. When the third series itself is finished, of course.

Aaaaand my pre-order for this little beaut downloaded on my K Fire the other day, so I started it, too. I’m not very far in at all, but I anticipate some fun times to get me through everything else that’s going on. If anyone can do it, it’s Molly Harper and this series.

But yeah, as you can see, when the going gets tough, I tend to get a little scatterbrained. I want to read, I want to blog and I want to do it now. And that’s just how it is here lately.

Don’t worry, the blog will still be there when you have the time and energy to post. Trust me on this. I recently discovered mine was still there two years later! :)

Would you recommend reading the first trilogy of the Noble Dead saga as a complete series or do you think a reader would have to continue on to the next trilogy? Does it come to any sort of conclusion?

I have yet to read Molly Harper so I will definitely have to check her out. I do so love a good paranormal, particularly one with vamps.

The first Noble Dead series, books 1-6, are so, so good. But the ovrall story arc is NOT finished in them, so that’s why I’m continuing on, hoping for that closure. And I’m not sure what to say because the second series, books 7-9 are just not good at all compared to the first series. What a bummer. There is a series 3 as well, but I’m not sure how long it will be or if we’ll get that closure at the end of it. Double bummer!

Thanks, Christine! Her birthday was this past Saturday and it was a hit, even with only 3 of her 19 classmates showing up. Most everyone came back to our house where they went swimming. And as I’m sure you know already, she just looooves her doll lol.

Hang in there. There are times when I just want to run screaming from the house because life seems so complicated and stressful. Kids and their birthdays are hard since you want to make everything perfect for them. Just remember that it’s going to be great no matter what and hopefully that will calm you down. :)

Anthony Hopkins didn’t play Dracula, he played Van Helsing. Gary Oldman played Dracula. Although I liked the movie, I thought Oldman wasn’t sexy enough. He turned me off when Dracula is supposed to be alluring.

Hi, Sophia! No worries, I’m terrible about leaving comments myself lately. Time is too short these days!

And I really liked the latest Nice Girls book! I wasn’t very crazy over the third book, but I feel this one really brought the series back for me. It was just what I needed during some recent stressful times. :) Hope you’ve been reading some good books too.